First Peoples’ Architecture

“If you don't know, vote no”. Stupid bogan slogan. Reply? “If you don't know, find out”. Not just about the referendum, but indigenous culture. By extension, so many architects need to find out about indigenous thinking about country, and how it can influence design.

An idea recognised by the NSW Architects Registration Board, who have made a study of indigenous design one of its four mandatory topics in CPD. A great initiative, but do we have enough of these talks and symposia? Not yet, but it’s growing, and here’s a great offer from the NSW Regional Architecture Association, a new group who've already sponsored one spectacular CPD event at Bundanon.

BEGINNINGS - First Peoples’ Architecture | a Regional Architecture Association Experience

October 19-21, 2023, at Coolendel Camp, near Nowra on the shores of the Shoalhaven River, a central meeting place between communities on Country along the South Coast that continues to be a central place for gathering.

First Peoples’ Architecture is a chance for attendees to be immersed in a deep cultural experience of architecture and language from the families and elders who have an ancient connection to Coolendel. They will be actively building structures in collaboration with the traditional custodians who themselves built on this same site. Attendees will also be taking part in a Corroboree, Yarning Circles and even a cold plunge in the Shoalhaven.

Creative Directors for this event are Renee McGuinn of MAAD Studio and Wesley Hindmarch of Local Architect South Coast. The creative directors are working in collaboration with Raymond Timbery of Ghadungal Marring, Dharrawal Traditional Custodians who facilitate and deliver cultural programs and experiences on Dharrawal Dhurga land. Ghadungal Marring are uniquely positioned to address the CPD competencies around indigenous knowledge now required by architects.

The event will include a panel discussion around continuity of use, heritage, and place; places of sharing knowledge in Country and their relevance to the Burra Charter (a periodically updated document that seeks to develop an understanding of cultural heritage management) and contemporary considerations of heritage. Ngamba Elder Uncle Paul Gordon and heritage architect Noel Thomson will present and contextualise this discussion with fellow panellists, architect Lee Hillam and Dharrawal Yuin Raymond Timbery.

This event seeks to forge long standing connections between Country, architecture, and heritage, creating pathways and actions for a connected architectural future. This transformative event will further bridge the gap between indigenous culture, our understanding of heritage and how we better articulate this experience through practice.

More information here.

Follow the Halprin Trail

I am fascinated by creative families and the links between members who collaborate in art and design. The Boyds are Australia’s most notable. The Halprins are one in the USA. There's a lineage here, which is interesting to trace.

Lawrence Halprin was a highly regarded landscape architect working primarily around his home base of San Francisco, and on the west coast of the USA. His work often brings natural systems into urban parks with an emphasis on human use. His projects include Freeway Park in Seattle, 1976 (above), Grand Hope Park in L.A., 1993 (below) and the landscape setting of Sea Ranch, 1964 (below again).

My entrée to the broader creativity was through a book, RSVP Cycles, a favourite of Brisbane architecture students, from a conference in 1979. Written by Lawrence Halprin, the book outlines an open design process of creative methodology for collaboration, far more than normal black box ideas of creativity. It stands for Resources, Scores, Valuaction and Performance.

The book is one of my treasures, but I wondered how a landscape architect had the foresight to see past the narrow formulas, towards a more encompassing creativity. The last action, performance, gave a clue that it wasn’t all Lawrence’s work, despite what’s on the cover of my first edition. The answer is that the book was equally co-authored with his wife, Anna Halprin, a world-renowned choreographer.

Anna is credited with creating post-modern interpretive dance, based on kinesthetic awareness and took it to popularity through scores (in the RSVP) and its powerful use in healing. The upshot is that their joint work celebrates and interprets human movement within space.

The Halprins had a daughter, Daria, who was an actress in three movies in the late 60s, starring as herself in Zabriskie Point directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and released to much controversy in 1970. She married Dennis Hopper in 1972, who became well-known as a photographer (think Double Standard), later of Hollywood royalty in spaces not at all adjacent to movies. BTW Hopper bought not one, not two, but three Frank Gehry houses in a triplex, and built his photographic gallery next door. But that’s a sideline to our lineage.

Daria and Anna collaborated extensively on dance, forming Tampala studio in 1978 offering training in Life/Art process, their creative methodology, and offering creative arts therapy. Anna died in 2021 aged 100, Daria still teaches and her daughter, Ruthanna Hopper is a visual artist, curator, and author of two books, one a NY Times bestseller.

Finally, amongst the many alumni of Tampala is the black American photographer, Carrie Mae Weems, who credits her early work as a dancer as developing a deep understanding of people in space, that informs her choreography and performance that forms part of her photographic oeuvre. She has a significant touring exhibition that is in the Barbican Gallery in London at present.

A family bound by creativity, dance, photography, architecture, and design as a means of fulfilling human expression in space, above all else seeking to find human happiness and understanding, ultimately movement in space as healer.

Who’s arrogant?

There’s been much recent press about comments by Tim Gurner, developer, and rich Lister. Born to rule with silver spoon in his gob, it didn’t prevent him mouthing abusive and absurd comments that “workers (on his building sites) had become arrogant and didn't really want to work so much". His comments were swiftly condemned by workers, unions, and politicians in Australia and internationally. He said he regretted his comments did not show empathy.

What he didn’t say was that he was dead wrong. Many, probably most, workers on building sites these days are sub-contractors, running their own businesses rather than on paid wages. They are self-employed, organise their own labor, provide tools, equipment, and materials, pay their BAS, taxes, and insurances.

I started working life as a labourer on the tools when it was all employed workers. Fifty years later I'm visiting a building site every week (it’s the best part and old habits die hard). I don’t recall we ever worked as hard back then as subbies do today. In more danger yes, but more shovel-leaning as well.

Subbies’ biggest fears these days are the bosses’ companies going bankrupt, and phoenixing as a new entity, owing the subbies millions. 1,500 builder bankruptcies last financial year. It might be more believable if Mr Bellicose Businessman took a long hard look at that form of arrogance.

Upon Reflection

It's a conundrum that curtain-wall glass walls, the most efficient cladding system for high-rise skyscrapers is its most mundane surface. Systemitised, durable, weatherproof, low maintenance and recyclable, it physically outperforms solid materials such as concrete, tiles and bricks, et cetera. Whilst failing visually, creatively, and aesthetically.

One saving grace is the variety in its reflections, a dynamism created by the viewer’s movement. Most CBDs worldwide now have buildings reflecting other buildings, old in the new. Here's a couple from my Australian collection. Overseas next week.

Bookends

Two books by the Halprins: Lawrence’s landscape work on the left (featuring Sea Ranch) and he and Anna’s masterwork on the right.

Signs off

Lawrence Halprin’s signature on the base of the entry tower to Grand Hope Park in L.A. CA USA.

Tone Wheeler is an architect / the views expressed are his.

These Design Notes are Tone on Tuesday #181.

Past Tone on Tuesday columns can be found here

Past A&D Another Thing columns can be found here

You can contact TW at toneontuesday@gmail.com

Tone Wheeler

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